Mattel just
can't catch a break - or maybe they just
can't manage to do anything right. Six to one, half dozen to the other
if you're a customer, since they get the gold and you get the shaft
either way.

This year at SDCC, they thought they'd try a pre-sale on their
exclusives. It should work simply enough - get on Matty Collector,
pay for your exclusives, pick them up at the show. This was only for
attendees, but the process works great for Sideshow, so why not Mattel?

Probably
because they aren't Sideshow and decided to make the process far more
difficult than it needed to be. I stood in line for almost 90 minutes
to pick up exclusives I'd already paid for - what's wrong with this
picture? The problem was bureaucracy - they checked multiple forms of
ID, filled out forms, cross checked and double checked, and surprised
me by not asking for DNA or a retina scan. I know you want to be sure
the right people get the right products, but was it necessary to hire
the Deparment of Homeland Security?

There was also a
bit of controversy, although that's no surprise. They had published
that their fulfillment room (located at the Marriot, away from the main
floor) would be open til 4:30 each day to get your exclusives. Although
you had paid for them, if you didn't show up and get them at the show,
you'd be out of luck and they'd go back into the pile for sale to the
general public yesterday. By Friday, the line was getting so long in
the afternoon (see above for the reason) that the tried to cap it off
at 3pm so they could be done by 4:30. After it was pointed out to them
that lots of people only had one day passes and that they'd told them
they'd be open til 4:30, and that closing early so they could go home
on time would not be a smart move,
they changed their mind, barely averting yet another marketing snafu.

I
did manage to get my exclusives though (and read a full volume of the
Walking Dead while waiting in line), so all was not atrocious. I'm
going to check out their SDCC Orko tonight, which includes Prince Adam,
and has the special color change feature available only at the show.
Yesterday, Orko went on sale at Matty Collector as well, but that
version does not change colors with temperature.

Packaging - ***
While
this is still the same cool design as the rest of the line, I have to
say that the oversized nature bugs the eco-friendly person hiding
inside the otherwise inconsiderate jerk I am. This is one mighty big
card and tray for such a small little figure. This is due largely to
pretending Adam is the 'accessory', which means they put him longways
across the bottom, hidden by the lower logo. Cute idea, but still
pretty wasteful.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Orko was always a dorky little dude, who was supposed to be a guardian
and mentor of sorts for Prince Adam/He-man. This sculpted version looks
very much like the original, capturing the nostalgic feel of the
original series and the cartoon, but with an updated quality and
articulation.

There's
not a ton of detail here, but that's no surprise. In fact, doing less
detailed cartoon characters in 3-D can be every bit as complicated as
doing lifelike people portraits - the conversion from 2-D to 3-D can
cause all kinds of problems. Yet, the Four Horsemen have translated the
personality of the character seamlessly.

The right hand is
sculpted to hold the staff, and does it well. The left hand is done in
a gesturing pose, which will work well with a ton of stances.

Orko
is small, but scaled properly with the rest of the figures. The
included display stand allows him to 'float' at about the right height
to converse with Adam at eye level.

Prince Adam uses the same
basic body as the other figures in the line (most notably He-man of
course), but has a new head sculpt and vest. The head he comes wearing
is done with a softer smirk, more befitting the character. They've also
included the second head sculpt, with a grimace, that looks pretty much
identical to the original He-man head from the first release. There are
some minor differences, but I think these are more likely due to
manufacturing variances than intentional sculpt changes.

Paint - ***
The paint work is clean and neat across the board, both on Adam and on
Orko.

Orko
does have a bit of the googly eyes going on, but it seems to fit his
character. I was going to make a crack about Adam's pink tights and
purple swords, but it just seems too easy, and the poor guy already
probably got enough of that at Eternia High School.

It's worth
discussing the color change feature in this category, and it's not a
feature that's really wowing me. When the figure is cold, he's supposed
to look 'normal' (standard color for the robe, hands, ears and hat),
but when you heat him up, the color disappears, leaving a clear Orko
(except for the head, symbol and eyes) behind. I've included a photo
with him turned by an application of hot water.

The feature is
very sensitive, changing quite easily with slight differences in
temperature. You'll notice that in most of the photos, the color is
translucent, but that's because it's August, and we're having a
particularly hot August. I think that if I were shooting this figure in
January and the room was 70 instead of 76, he'd be much darker. The
color changes quickly too - you can see in the 'clear' photo that the
edges are already starting to turn back, and he had just been out of
the hot water for a minute, maybe less. It is possible to get him
completely clear or very darkly colored, but keeping him that way
requires some pretty extreme temps. Most of the time, he's going to
look something in between, more of a slightly translucent color, and I
don't think I like that as much as the solid colored version sold this
past Monday at the website.

Articulation - ***1/2
Prince Adam has all the same articulation as the other regular sized
figures in the line - ball jointed neck, ball jointed
shoulders,
cut biceps, pin elbows, cut wrists, cut waist, ab crunch, pin knees,
pin ankles, cut calves, and ball hips with cut thighs. The vest doesn't
restrict the movement too much (although the ab crunch is fairly
useless with it on), and the joints are all tight and sturdy.

Orko
is more articulate than I had expected, as well. There's a cut neck,
ball shoulders, pin elbows and cut wrists, which means that the arms
are quite posable. The stand also attaches to the body with a ball,
making it possible for him to tilt and turn on the stand in just about
any direction.

Accessories - ****
Technically, Adam is an accessory here, which boosts this score quite a
bit. I've already discussed his key features in the other sections
however, so let's just leave it at that for this category.

However,
he even has his own accessories! There's the two purple swords, but I
think I got screwed with mine. They are identical, but I believe what
you should get is one full sword (which both of mine are) and one half
sword, similar to what we got with the first He-man.

He
also has a second head sculpt, *almost* identical to the original
He-man portrait. Any differences I could find were most likely due to
the manufacturing process, not the original sculpt.

One key
difference is that this extra head is painted up with the matte skin
tone, rather than the original shiny plastic. For those that have the
original He-man AND prefer the matte finish, this head can be swapped
over pretty easily.

Orko comes with three more
accessories as
well. He has his staff/wand, which he holds tightly in his left hand.
He also has a clear display stand, similar to what we've seen with the
Ghostbusters Slimers. The top is a ball joint, so he can tilt and lean
in various ways, all while suspended above the ground.

Finally,
he has the spell book. On the back of this version, there's the SDCC
logo. I don't think the non-color change version sold Monday will have
this, as the logo itself is also color change. It's supposed be hidden
(all brown) when not heated up, but mine was showing all the time and
needed cold water to disappear. Hey, it's hotter than Texas asphalt
around here right now.

The book is also hollow, with a
very
unique shape to the hole. I'm not sure if something is supposed to go
in there, or it was just a cost measure.

Fun Factor - ****
I hate repeating myself, but this is the funnest (yes, I know that's
not a word) action figure line on the market right now. And no kids
will ever get to play with it. What would Woody say?

Value - **1/2
This is an exclusive, and as such cost $5 more than the usual $20
release. That's not a surprise - exclusives always demand a slight
premium. It's also slightly less painful because you're getting TWO
complete figures, not just one, and Orko sports the color change
feature.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing - these are sturdy, well built toys. They just happen to be
sold to collectors with a nostalgia for days gone by.

Overall - ***1/2
Another great figure in the series, but probably one that is going to
further annoy and frustrate fans. It was tough to get a SDCC exclusive
version, and perhaps even harder to get the regular one.

This
is one of those rare occasions where the regular release really is
better (at least for me) than the exclusive. I'm glad I was fortunate
enough on Monday to get my order in, because I suspect that I'll end up
preferring the normal paint job to the ultra-sensitive color change
version.

Where to Buy -
This was an SDCC exclusive, but the normal non-color changing version
was available through Matty Collector on 8/04. That's also past, alas,
which means that ebay.
might be your final hope.